13-year human-powered world trip
6 October 2007
 Furl It |
British adventurer Jason Lewis today arrived in Greenwich, south-east London, ending a 13-year round-the-world trip using only the power of the human body.The 40-year-old completed the final leg of his 74,000-kilometre odyssey by pedalling his 7.9-metre boat Moksha up the River Thames. Ending a journey that included capsizing in the Atlantic, breaking both legs, being chased by a crocodile and being arrested on suspicion of spying, Lewis then disembarked and carried Moksha across the Greenwich Meridian line at the Royal Observatory with the help of supporters.
Lewis set off from the same spot — zero degrees longitude — bound for Portugal in July 1994. The 16-leg journey included hiking, kayaking, mountain biking and hiking. “I’m overwhelmed. It’s pretty amazing,” an emotional Lewis told reporters as he crossed the meridian.
“Thirteen years coming to an end. It’s been a big, long journey. It’s good to be back.” Lewis has twice crossed the English Channel in Moksha as well as the north Atlantic, the Pacific and parts of the Indian Ocean.
The boat capsized in the Atlantic. In the United States, he suffered two broken legs when he was run over by a car while crossing the country on rollerblades. He was chased by a crocodile in Australia and was arrested in Egypt on suspicion of being a spy after illegally crossing the border from Sudan.
